CARS built in Swindon have once again been named the most reliable in the country.

Honda, which has its UK plant in South Marston, has been named the UK’s most reliable manufacturer in the latest What Car? and Warranty Direct reliability study for an unprecedented sixth year in a row.

The 2011 survey result reinforces Honda's reputation for building rock-solid, dependable cars and comes just a couple of days after it was announced that the South Marston factory will be building two new models which will preserve the 3,000 workforce in the town.

Honda beat rivals to the top of the What Car? league table thanks to an impressively-low nine per cent failure rate in the first 12 months.

Honda dominated the top of the SUV table with the HR-V and CR-V at number one and two. Jazz and Accord both come fifth in their respective classes while the soon to be replaced Civic came third in the small hatchback category.

What Car? editor-in-chief Chas Hallett said: “The success of Honda in this years’ reliability study is impressive, especially as this is Honda’s sixth overall win as the UK’s most reliable car maker. Reliability is key for car buyers.

“The car makers at the bottom of the study have a lot of work to do to catch up with Honda.”

What Car? isn’t the only title to recognise Honda’s reliability. The 2011 Which? Car survey last week named Honda as the Most Reliable Brand and the 2011 JD Power Vehicle Ownership Satis-faction Study saw Honda retain the number two spot in the overall league table – the highest-placed volume manufacturer.

Dave Hodgetts, managing director for Honda (UK), said: “We strive to make every second of Honda ownership an enjoyable experience, and that means looking after our drivers.

“This all starts with building reliable and high quality cars that are affordable to run and maintain, but continues with service at our dealers that exceeds expectation.”

Since 2004/05, Honda has had a uniform manufacturing process across the world, meaning that the same models, built in different manufacturing plants, are assem- bled in an identical fashion.

More than 80 per cent of the cars Honda sells in the UK are built at its manufacturing facility in Swindon, so the recent reliability survey results reflect the high standards and engineering expertise of the associates at the plant.